Utah Jazz: The argument against trading for Kevin Love

There’s been a lot of buzz lately among fans about the Utah Jazz aiming to trade for Kevin Love. But would it truly be the best idea?

Lately on Utah Jazz Twitter, there’s been a lot of rumblings about the Jazz potentially aiming to strike up a trade for Kevin Love. This has surfaced thanks to rumors that if LeBron James leaves Cleveland, which is a distinct possibility, the Cavs will look to trade Kevin Love as part of a roster overhaul.

The flames were further fanned by a Bleacher Report article by Dan Favale suggesting the Utah Jazz as a potentially ideal landing spot if Love were dealt. Here is the package brought up in that piece:

"Cavaliers Receive: SG Alec Burks, PF Jonas Jerebko, C Ekpe Udoh, No. 21 pick ($2,056,580), 2020 lottery-protected first-round pickUtah Jazz Receive: PF/C Kevin Love"

Of course in this scenario, the pair of first-round picks would be the most appealing assets for the Cavs while Jerebko, Udoh and Burks are all merely expiring contracts. Giving up those picks would obviously hurt, but such is always the case in trades, especially when netting a player of the caliber of Love.

There’s a lot to like about this and and other viable scenarios where Utah could potentially trade for Kevin Love. He’s a terrific talent in his own right that would significantly bolster the Jazz spacing and offense. If the Cavs were looking to rebuild, he could also be had without giving up much in terms of established talent. I completely understand Kevin Love’s appeal to Jazz fans and why they’d want his skill set and style on the team.

Yet, while perhaps I’ll end up regretting such a stand, I want to tell Jazz fans to pump the breaks somewhat. Intriguing though it may be to consider adding Love to Utah’s ranks, I’m here to share the argument against trading for Kevin Love.

The first thing that stands out to me is the fact that Kevin Love is far from a solid defender. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that he’s a liability. Though not entirely his fault by any stretch of the imagination, Kevin Love posted a forgettable defensive rating this past season of 111.3. He also posted a -1.5 defensive box plus/minus this past year, and has been in the negatives in that category each of the last seven seasons.

Considering that Utah’s identity has always been defense first, I don’t know that it’s wise to throw in a guy like Kevin Love that simply wouldn’t match that mold whatsoever. Yes, he fits a stretch-four need and could help the offense, but for the Jazz to continue to thrive in their proven way, the defensive end simply cannot be compromised.

Now, some are quick to provide a counterargument to this stating that Rudy Gobert‘s elite rim protection and the fact that the other Jazz players on the court would very well be lock-down defenders could help mitigate Love’s defensive shortcomings. While I agree there is some truth to this, it’s also not without its faults.

First of all, think back with me to the playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Even though the Jazz had good to great defenders on the floor pretty much at all times, there were several occasions where the Rockets guards were able to beat their man off the dribble or in the pick-and-roll and then simply leave Gobert on an island in the paint. He was then forced to either let the ball-handler go up for an easy basket or ease off of Clint Capela, which often led to an easy dunk.

In Rudy’s defense, he handled those situations masterfully on more than one occasion and was much more effective than the average center would have been in those spots. Still, the fact remains that if Rudy struggled to save the day with good defenders on the floor against elite playoff offenses, he’d likely have his hands full trying to make up for the lackluster D of Kevin Love.

Not only that, but the Oklahoma City Thunder series provides another good example of where Love’s defense could be a hindrance, this time by observing Utah’s opponent. Although they took a step backwards once Andre Roberson went down to injury, the Thunder were still a good defensive team this past year. Any squad that boasts both Paul George and Steven Adams is going to be tough to score on.

However, the Jazz found success on offense by exploiting the poor defense of Carmelo Anthony. When Melo went to OKC, many expressed a similar sentiment that the stingy Thunder defense would help make up for Melo’s shortcomings. In reality, good teams still find a way to expose such a weakness in their opponents.

The fact of the matter is that in the NBA with so many solid isolation players, a glaring defensive weakness will always manifest itself in one way or another. As good as Utah’s defense is, throwing Kevin Love into the mix would lessen that defense despite the presence of Rudy Gobert and any other Jazz defenders.

Moving over to the other side of the ball, most Jazz fans that drool over Kevin Love do so because they love the thought of him spacing the floor as a solid stretch-four option. His fit alongside Rudy Gobert on offense is almost undeniable. Love demands respect on the perimeter which would significantly open things up for the Jazz, much more than when Derrick Favors or Jae Crowder is at the four-spot.

However, Love is definitely somewhat of a streaky shooter. As was evidenced in Cleveland’s latest postseason run, his touch from deep would come and go. Not only that, but although he shot a dominant 41.5 percent from deep this past season, that figure was somewhat of an outlier.

He has only shot over 40 percent from 3-point land in one other season. In the previous three seasons, he hovered right around 36 to 37 percent. 37 percent isn’t a bad mark by any stretch of the imagination, particularly for a big man, but it isn’t setting the world on fire like his 2017-18 clip of 41.5 percent seems to indicate.

Could he perhaps replicate his hot shooting in a Jazz system where Quin Snyder likes to feature a stretch-four? Certainly! But the fact remains that his deep-ball shooting hasn’t always been as reliable as some would like to think.

The other issue offensively is that sometimes Love struggles against stronger, more athletic bigs. Love is far from a hyper-athlete himself, so he’s been known to get in some trouble when challenged by a good individual defender. That was in full effect in Cleveland’s first-round series against the Indiana Pacers this past season.

Thaddeus Young did an exceptional job helping to keep Love in single-figure scoring for three of the seven contests and below 40 percent shooting from the field (sometimes well below) for all but one of the seven games.

In other words, while Love has excellent offensive tools, I’m just not certain that he’s the versatile playmaking four that’s going to propel the Jazz to a new echelon. I don’t know that he’s the right addition to get Utah past the likes of the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors. He certainly wasn’t this past season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, though admittedly Love’s fit and role in Utah would probably be a bit more defined and impactful than in Cleveland.

Beyond basketball aptitudes, there are a few other things that worry me about Love. The first is that he’s quickly approaching 30 years old. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have plenty of productive years left, but he’s definitely on a bit of different trajectory than the rest of Utah’s youthful roster.

Not only that, but he’s owed over $24 million in 2018-19. It goes without saying that to add him, the Jazz would have to deal some salaries in the trade and, of course, it would mean farewell to Derrick Favors. That’s not necessarily where the real issue comes in, though. The problem arises in the offseason of 2019, where a few things could happen.

First of all, Love has a player option for that year, which if he opts into, the Jazz would owe him nearly $25.6 million. That’s all fine and good if he’s your missing piece that gets you to the next level, but if he’s not, then Utah would be overpaying for him while sacrificing the former flexibility they would have had in 2019 to pursue perhaps a more impactful free agent.

Or Love could opt out of his player option and Utah could aim to re-sign him. If Utah had traded for Love, they’d have his Bird rights, which would certainly help with matters. But the cap hold that exists for free agents would still handcuff the Jazz to some extent as well. And then there’s the question of how much they’d need to pay Love in order to retain him.

Would he take a discount to stay with a team where he’d likely be a good fit and perhaps contend for a championship? Perhaps. But that’s a high risk to run when trading for him. And again, it begs the question, is Love the missing piece that the Jazz need? If so, then great, do everything possible to re-sign him. But if he’s not, then he’ll be simply eating up cap space that Utah could have used elsewhere.

Last of all in that regard, there’s also no guarantee that Kevin Love will want to stay in Utah past the 2018-19 season, or the 2019-20 season if he decides to opt in to his player option. Hopefully the Jazz would have a pretty good idea of his intentions prior to trading for him, but if not and Love wasn’t aiming to stay with the Jazz, it would be a shame to sacrifice two first-round picks for a one or two-year rental.

Some point to the fact that Kevin Love has made it clear that Park City, Utah is one of his favorite places to spend his time during the offseason as evidence that he’d want to remain with the Jazz. That very well may be, but it’s far from a concrete assurance.

In conclusion, there’s a ton that I like about what Kevin Love could bring to the table for the Jazz and I admit that his fit on offense is easy to see. If Dennis Lindsey and Quin Snyder decide to trade for Kevin Love this offseason, then I trust them way more than I trust myself on this matter and would be completely on board.

And if it panned out to perfection, I’d be happy to eat crow. To be perfectly honest, I really like Love both as a player and a person, so his addition would be exciting in that regard.

Next: Utah Jazz 2018 NBA Draft profile: Anfernee Simons

However, because of concerns with his defense, lack of athleticism, contract and the fact that I’m just not sure he’s exactly the piece Utah should splurge on to get over the hump, I would caution fans from getting too overeager or anxious for the Jazz to trade for Kevin Love.

The positives of such a move are easy to see on the surface, but if the underlying concerns rear their ugly head, it could turn into more of a hindrance in the long term than a help to the Utah Jazz.